Our little slugger Kai turned 8 in November. We sailed through the holidays, Aubrey’s butterfly party this last weekend and now I’m sharing all the sweet Baseball details with you. If I’m being honest, this was not my favorite party theme but only because sports are so-so in my book. Kai however, is my sports kid and eats, sleeps and drinks all things ball-related. As usual, my kiddos pick their themes. You’ll recall his 6th birthday was this adorable Football-Themed party. Who knows, maybe next year will be basketball. Madison Rae Photography hit these home run 8th birthday pictures out of the park.
I love throwing my kids parties…I love the creative muscles it flexes and all the homemade touches. I love supporting small shops, talented artists and small local businesses. A lot of it is budget-friendly and easy to replicate. Yes it is work but for me, joyful work. It’s an honor to be a memory maker for others.
We made and painted the back drops out of spare wood floating around our house and leftover paint in the basement, the dessert table is a 5′ plastic folding table covered in inexpensive fabric from Joanns and the cute bunting garland is a 4th of July flag garland from Amazon I painted to match the party colors. I use the same cake stands, cupcake holder and cookie platters I always do and the kids tables and chairs were a worthy investment for us that we’ve used consistently for the last 6 years. Parties are fun and life is short so wildly, unapologetically celebrate the joyful things.
This is the only kids party each year I can hope to have outside. Aubrey is an end of January baby and Cade is the beginning of March. So Kai’s party is always a treat because outside parties are awesome. They’re also terrifying because they’re so weather dependent. November in New England is unpredictable. Luckily we had another decent year which allowed for some set up the night before. Given the energy and number of kids, Busy Bees Jumpers saved the day by dropping off this awesome inflatable obstacle course. We literally didn’t see the kids until we yelled “Cake.” Busy Bee Jumpers is great to work with and this is worth every penny for the entertainment factor.
Always the highlight of any party, the dessert table looked especially cute with the grouping of vintage bats. I used these acrylic bat holders to position them on the back drop. Etsy is my go-to for all these party props (completely unsponsored in any way, just my opinion after years of parties). We are planning on transferring them in his bedroom wall when we get a free weekend to actually think about home projects.
The adorable the cake was by Lizzie’s Bakery and the cookies by Flour’d by Bethany. I bought this pack of Cracker Jacks of Amazon and these baseball glove chocolates to put on cupcakes we made from scratch. These MLB colored M&Ms were also a hit with the little batters.
I used these tables and chairs and left over fabric for the table runner. Baseball plates, Bat Napkins, these Striped Cups, and Baseball Tooth Pics + Baseball Straws looked adorable on the kid’s table. I opted to go flower-free and filled these glass Amazon vases with peanuts (luckily no allergies but me mindful of that if you’re throwing your own) and baseballs which Kai could then use to play with after the party was over. The real splurge / also the party favor were these 7.5 ” wooden bats customized with the kiddo’s names. I had a shop on Etsy make them for me.
I think you typically feed your party guests hot dogs at baseball-themed parties. However the California DNA has transferred to our offspring and they demand Chipotle. Which makes Matt and I feel confident in the direction our parenting skills are headed. So there you have it Kai, Baseball burritos. We got the cutie baseball hat bowls here.
Styling and Party Decor–Finding Lovely + the husband
Photography–Madison Rae Photography
Cake–Lizzie’s Bakery
Cookies–Flourd by Bethany
Kid’s Wooden Tables & Chairs–International Concepts (we’ve had them for 6 years, they’re rockstars!)
Plates–Meri Meri
Napkins–Meri Meri
Blue Stripe Cups–Daydream Society
Party Signage–I customized this design
Family Shirts–Etsy
Mini 7.5″ Custom Wooden Bats with Kid’s Names–Etsy
Ticking Stripe Fabric–I got ours at Joanns, here’s a similar option on Amazon.
Balloon Garland–Made by me with these PopFestCo Balloons (I can’t remember the colors but send her a pic and she’ll customize the garland for you)
Baseball Straws | Baseballs | Blue Stripe Cup | Bat and Ball Napkin | Baseball Plate | Chair and Table Set | Vintage Bats | Baseball Bubble Favors | Gift Bags | Fabric
Happy 8th birthday Kai. We hit a home run when we got you! I hope you’ve enjoyed this home run 8th birthday party.